


DOING MY BOYFRIEND'S HAIR [NOT CLICKBAIT, EMOTIONAL]

by Mallaeus



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hair, Haircuts, M/M, One Shot, Relationship Reveal, Social Media, YouTube, vlog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24096505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mallaeus/pseuds/Mallaeus
Summary: Raihan runs a successful PokéTube channel, and he decides to finally reveal the mystery man who has been in the background of many of his videos.Blue watches the video, having been hooked by his husband into watching Riahan's channel.A fluffy haircut ensues.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Ookido Green | Blue Oak/Red
Comments: 17
Kudos: 153





	DOING MY BOYFRIEND'S HAIR [NOT CLICKBAIT, EMOTIONAL]

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, Mallaeus again with a follow up to my smash hit record breaking beloved masterpiece 'Pure Shores', featuring our happy couple Red and Blue watching another happy couple on their coming out video.  
> I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please comment because then I might be inclined to produce more lovely content featuring these two.

It had been a long day for Red. The ranch's stable of Rapidash had all given birth, one after another, over the course of a week and a half, and the resulting herd of hyperactive flaming babies had he and the other farmhands at their wits ends trying to prevent the whole place from burning down. His shirts were all singed in places from the flames that those little monsters would belch indiscriminately as they got used to their new bodies. He was coated in sweat, and desperate for a shower and a beer. Or twelve. He was blasted by a wall of cool air as he entered the house, silently thanking his husband for his complete inability to deal with the heat. The whirr of the air conditioning already was starting to soothe his mind, as he removed his sweaty clothes on his way to the bedroom. He tripped on the way, almost breaking his ankle as his foot knocked into a sleeping Squirtle who had nestled herself between the couch and the wall. She didn’t even so much as twitch, her sleep unbroken by Red’s stifled yowls of pain.  
Blue eyed him from his position on the bed, slouched into the headboard with his laptop next to him, as he walked in, cradling his toes. He had been working from home for the last month, as the university's library had been full of students preparing for their finals. It hadn't felt right grading his students' papers while some of them sat feet away from him, almost in tears studying for the exams he had set, and so he was home. He watched Red dump his clothes in the hamper, humming appreciatively.  
"You're really cutting to the chase today, huh?"  
Red chuckled, wrapping a towel around himself as he stood, flipping through his phone.  
"I couldn't wear them any longer. They had to come off or they'd be stuck to me forever."  
"Well go shower then! Don't stink the place up."  
Red placed his phone on the bedside table, leaning into the mattress, propped up by his arms.  
"You wanna come with me?"  
Blue pushed him off as he leaned in to kiss him, wrinkling his nose at the stench of sweat and Pokémon manure reached his nose.  
"I'll pass for today."  
"Fine," he replied, straightening, letting the towel fall into a puddle around him, "Your loss."  
Blue rolled his eyes as he passed, clicking back through the video he had been watching. It was a documentary on Pokémon migrations, narrated by Professor Oak, that Blue had researched for Goldenrod TV the year previous. He was only watching out of curiosity, already familiar with the content, and so let his mind drift as the static noise of the shower running leeched into his thoughts. Eventually the water shut off with a thunk, and Red's voice called to him from the bathroom.  
"Can you pass me in that towel, I don't got one in here."  
He rolled his eyes, swiping it up from the floor, and hooking it onto his waiting hand jutting out from behind the shower curtain. His head poked out, hair dripping into his eyes, and he flashed Blue a smile.  
"Thank you," he said, voice sweet, leaning in for a kiss. Blue met him this time, swiping a hand across his chest before patting him lightly and leaving him, fingers running through the droplets of water trapped in his chest hair.  
When Red returned, Blue was laying on his side in the center of the bed, laptop perched on Red's bedside table, watching a video of someone Red recognized.  
"Is that Raihan's channel you're watchin'?" he asked as he pulled on his sweatpants and slid in behind Blue, pressing his chest to his back. Blue pulled his arm around his stomach as they settled, locking their feet together above the covers.  
"Yeah, I got bored the other day while you were at work and started watching his stuff cause I see you doin' it all the time. I never thought I'd be this interested in some stranger's life."  
Raihan's channel was a mixture of vlogs, battle montages, and lifestyle videos. It seemed to be a one-man operation, which was impressive given the sheer amount of content he produced on a weekly basis. He uploaded three videos a week, not to mention live streaming for over three hours on Saturdays. Some of the content was heavily edited as well, filled with effects and cut-aways that must take him an inordinate amount of time to stitch together. Blue was at the end of his most recent vlog, and he was detailing his newest video, set to premier that day.  
He and Red lazed together, letting the video wash over them as they dozed, only to jolt awake as Raihan dropped a bombshell.

"I hope you guys enjoyed this week's vlog! If you did, hit the like button, subscribe, tell your friends, tell Twitter, tell the world, tell everybody to come join us on Monday for my next video!"  
His smile, normally a lazy grin that seemed permanently painted on his face, widened conspiratorially. He leaned in closer to his camera, eyes shining with the reflection of his ring light.  
"Now, I know you all have been asking me who the guy is that sometimes shows up in my videos in the background…"  
The video cut quickly to a montage of old clips from vlogs. A morning update from bed, interrupted by a grumbling snore from a lump beneath the blankets beside him, a single hand visible where it stretched across Raihan's stomach. That same hand sneaking in front of the camera as it passed Raihan a hand mirror from out of frame during a makeup video involving his cousin — fellow Gym leader and supermodel, Nessa. A voice in the background of a channel update, Raihan's eyes flicking to the address, leaning up out of frame to kiss whomever it belonged to goodbye.  
"So I thought I'd finally let the cat out of the bag, and show you guys the idiot who's been robbing my covers every night for the last few years."  
His eyes creased in laughter as an indignant, although indistinct, voice shouted in protest from the other room.  
"That's it for today, everybody! See you soon, bye!"  
He let the last syllable of his farewell stretch to infinity, as it mixed in with his outro music, various other videos popping up around it, as well as links to his affiliate sites and brands.

Blue clicked out of the video as it ended, returning to the PokéTube home page, scrolling for something else to watch. Red had fallen asleep behind him, snoring gently into his shoulders, where his face was buried. Blue stroked a thumb across the back of his hands where they were clasped around his middle, and smiled to himself. On his second refresh, a new video appeared on the front page — Raihan’s new video. The title was in all caps — a quirk of the medium. DOING MY BOYFRIEND'S HAIR [NOT CLICKBAIT, EMOTIONAL]. The thumbnail was typical of any big star on the platform — Raihan’s face twisted into a huge, shocked expression, a silhouette beside him in the shape of another person, filled with graphic question marks. It was one of his longer ones, the number in the lower corner indicating nearly a full hour runtime. Blue checked the time, shrugged, and clicked in.

The video opened with Raihan seated at his usual table where he filmed his Monday videos — makeup challenges, crafts, product reviews, anything and everything under the sun. He seemed closer to the camera than usual, the frame closed in around his face as he greeted the lens with his usual toothy grin. He began his usual preamble, which Blue scrubbed through, having watched enough of the videos that day that it was permanently inscribed in his mind, to the point that he could recite it verbatim. As the video played again, Raihan clapped his hands loudly to ready himself, hands pressed together as if in prayer, all part of the mock solemnity of the video. Blue had to admit, the guy oozed charisma, and knew every way to keep an audience alert and entertained, no matter how long the video was. He exhaled dramatically, as the camera panned out to reveal a human shape beside him, covered with a white sheet. Blue snorted in spite of himself. On the screen, Raihan spoke.  
"Okay guys. It's time for me to come clean." He paused for effect, inhaling deeply. "This guy has been with me for a long time, and we've been through a lot together. But, until today, we never went public, because of circumstances which are gunna become pretty obvious once I pull this sheet off. If you're of a nervous disposition, or if you scare easily, I'd advise you to stop watching now, and go find something else to watch, because this is gunna be shocking." There was a beat of silence from Raihan, replete with ominous music, interrupted by a nervous chuckle from beneath the sheet. His hand shot out, lightly slapping the other's chest as he broke once more into a grin.  
"Do you see that? He's ruining it already!"  
The laughter from beneath the sheet began in earnest then, as Raihan gently shushed him.  
"Okay, okay, since he's clearly eager to make his on screen debut, I guess it's time."  
He moved slowly, methodically building tension as his slender fingers inched closer to the sheet, tangling in it as he gripped. There was a jerk of his arms, the swift movement of the sheet and then the screen cut to an ad. Blue released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Raihan was a prick, putting an ad right there at that moment. As if to rub it in, he was featured in the commercial — unskippable, naturally — that was hawking some underwear brand he had modelled for. There were some moody shots of him on a balcony at night, gauzy curtains flowing around him as he froze his butt off on the railing, before it cut to a much larger man — bright red hair and freckles in the sunlight as he lazed in a field surrounded by Wooloo. The brand's logo appeared finally. Blue recognized it. In fact, as his eye moved past the laptop to their open closet behind it, he could see that logo printed across a few pairs of Red's. That was interesting. Perhaps he could get Red to model for them. They were rapidly approaching thirty years old, but Red was still as muscled as ever. Before his thoughts could probe further, the video returned, to a dramatic, multi-angle reveal of Raihan's mystery man. Eventually the camera stilled, and Blue was roused by a gasp from behind him.  
"Is that Leon?"  
Blue twisted to regard Red, who had woken up and was now staring wide-eyed at the video screen where Raihan had his arms slung loosely around the neck of another man — shorter, hair a vibrant shade of purple, tied in a ponytail that reached way down his back. Their faces were pressed together, laughing brightly. The man — Leon — placed a kiss on Raihan's cheek, and he pulled away dramatically, swaying as he pressed his hands to the spot where his lips had met skin.  
"You know him?"  
"He's the former Champion of the Galar region, duh. He and Raihan have been friends and rivals for years now. Dude's only ever lost one match in his entire life, and it was like six weeks ago."  
"Sounds like you and me."  
Red shrugged behind him, shushing him as Raihan started talking again.  
"Now I know you've all probably got a million questions for us, and we're gunna try answer as many as we can, but first, I gotta explain what we're doing here. Leon," he said, turning to the other man, "Would you care to tell the viewers why we're here today, other than to show everyone your lovely mug?"  
Leon laughed again, and gestured to his hair, pulling his ponytail around to the front as Raihan's fingers ran distractedly through the back of it.  
"So guys," he said, voice as practiced as Raihan's — a persona forged from nearly ten years of public appearances in media outlets all over the country. "When we were younger, off doing our League challenge, I said to Raihan, 'I'm not gunna cut my hair until I lose a Pokémon battle!' It was a weird thing to spring on him while we were in the middle of trying to make our way back to our camp in the Wild Area, but I was a weird kid!"  
"Be honest, mate, you had just beaten me for the umpteenth time and you were getting a big head."  
Leon's laughter was strong, head thrown back as he lost himself to a memory of the two of them as children. Raihan grinned wider beside him, pleased at how easy his boyfriend was on camera.  
"And, as you all know, I finally took that loss, six weeks ago, and gave up the title of Galar's Championship to someone who grew up in my very own hometown. It was emotional for me, but I think it's about time to start a new leg of my journey as a Trainer, and the first step is getting rid of this mop!"  
"So that's what we're doing today!" Raihan continued, "I'm gunna cut Leon's hair, and he's gunna read off some questions that you guys sent to my Twitter, and we're gunna answer them! Okay? Let's get started. Lee, can you take off your top for me?"  
Leon mock blushed, looking to the camera, scandalized.  
"Are you for real? In front of all these people? I could never!"  
Raihan's eyes rolled, "C'mon, we've all seen your calendars. Get your kit off for the people. This is paying our bills now anyway."  
Leon did as he was told, revealing a physique that Red whistled at from behind Blue.  
"Man, look at the kid, he's shredded. That's nuts!"  
"He's alright I guess."  
"He don't do it for you?"  
"You do it for me."  
Red nosed into his cheek, smile pressed against the skin, "Right answer."  
On the screen, Raihan had Leon seated as he stood over him, his enormous, lanky frame leaving him almost out of reach of the camera's eye. Leon glanced off-camera, likely at a screen showing a preview of the footage, and tapped Raihan's hip to get him to look.  
"Babe, they can't see you properly. You're too tall."  
"Oh shite, uhm…" Raihan trailed off, wandering to the camera to adjust the frame. He posed a few times, seemingly satisfied with the view. "Alright, are we good? We're good."  
His hands came to rest on Leon's shoulders, lightly massaging them with his fingers as his Rotom phone whizzed around him. It hovered by Leon, from where he could read off the questions sent in from Raihan's fans.  
"Alright," he said, "First one asks, 'Where did you guys meet?' Pretty straightforward, that one. Surely everyone knows that?"  
Raihan shrugged, "Probably, but doesn't hurt to retell it. Give them the short version."  
"Alright, well, me and him started our League challenge at the same time, and we got close from there. Few too many nights spent camping together and all of a sudden I can't get bloody rid of him!"  
He looked up to Raihan, who shrugged with a grin, "I suppose that about covers it. And how many years is that, Lee?"  
Leon's face twisted into an uncomfortable grimace. Math clearly wasn't a strong point for Galar's legendary Champion.  
"Err, maybe…eight years?"  
Raihan patted his shoulder.  
"Seven."  
"Close!"  
"T'was." A pause as Raihan fiddled with Leon's hair tie, eventually snipping it off, letting his ponytail fan out around his shoulders to its full length. "Just to give you all an idea of what we're working with here. Now Lee, how short are we going?"  
As he spoke, his fingers laced through the strands, and it all reminded Blue of the sensation of his own fingers skimming through Red's.  
"I was thinkin' we could make it like yours maybe?"  
Raihan startled, genuine surprise breaking through his façade.  
"Are you serious?"  
Leon nodded. Raihan looked grave at the prospect, contemplating Leon's locks as they passed through his fingers.  
"You're sure?"  
"Yeah. 'S too heavy, I'm gunna overheat one of these days!"  
Raihan's face was still perturbed, and he crouched down, leaning away from the microphone on the table as he spoke to Leon in a hushed tone. Leon's hand wound around his back as he pressed his ear close to his lips. They shared some quiet words, with Leon finally nodding in affirmation. Raihan relented as he stood, patting his shoulder once more. Blue could see easily what the problem was — Leon had, what, almost ten years of growth, and he was asking his boyfriend to shave off the majority of it. Raihan's hair was fairly standard, shaved sides and back which faded into a set of locs on top, that swayed as he walked and had to be pushed out of his face with a headband. The change was going to be dramatic, although he supposed that was what Leon wanted, surely.  
Raihan re-tied Leon's hair into his ponytail, and heaved a sigh.  
"Alright, time to get this show on the road so. Lee, can we have another question while I mentally prepare myself?"  
Leon's eyes rolled, as he tapped the Rotom phone once more.  
"Alright, this one is from your insta, and they ask: 'What's your favorite thing about him, and him you?' Tough one, that." Leon thought for a moment as Raihan fumbled off screen for a pair of scissors. "I s'pose I like that he's fun, and he never takes anything too seriously. It helps keep me from getting too in my head whenever I'm swamped with work and things."  
His smile was broad on his face, met by Raihan's stone expression as he moved once more behind Leon. He drew the ponytail back, holding it away as he took a deep breath, steeling himself with the scissors poised at the hair tie, ready to remove it in one go.  
"Are you still sure?"  
"Do it."  
Raihan pressed the scissors closed, and Leon's huge ponytail came away in his hand. They both stared at it for a moment, still held together by the tie, waving it in front of the camera. Raihan eventually spoke, voice wavering slightly.  
"Well, I was gunna say his hair, but I think I'm going to have to think of a new one now." He swiped at his eyes, as Leon drew him close with a strong arm around his middle. He laid his cheek on top of his head, chuckling in embarrassment. "I guess I like your passion for everything you do? Like you always dive head first into everything and give it your all."  
Leon smiled up at him, squeezing him once before he let go, letting him get back to his task.  
"Next one is close enough, 'What's your least favorite thing about each other?' Oof, can't wait to hear this one."  
Raihan laughed as he fussed with the head of the shaver, checking his array of guards before he began the process of Leon's haircut in earnest.  
"Err… suppose you can be a bit clumsy."  
"That's not true!"  
"Lee, you smashed a glass this morning about fifteen minutes after you woke up.

"That's anecdotal!"  
Raihan gestured, palms up, as he regarded the camera, shaking his head.  
"Alright, you answer now, and be careful," he added, gesturing with the razor, "Or I'll shave a landing strip on the back of your head."  
"Well, I mean of course Rai is perfect in every way, and so the only thing I can think of is that he's so tall that I have to get up on my toes to kiss him!"  
Leon's face was the picture of earnestness, the beat of silence broken by Raihan's exaggerated retch behind him. They broke into laughter, Leon shaking his head.  
"No, no, not that. Uhm, I dunno to be honest. He snores a bit, I s'pose. Gets a bit crabby if he didn't sleep enough the night before. He's alright, no complaints."  
"Isn't that lovely? Don't I look like a right arse now saying something real!"  
Leon tapped the side of his nose as he winked at the camera. There was a moment of nothing as Raihan started the process of shaving, Leon's hair falling around his shoulders in little purple tufts that sat vibrant against his tanned skin. They both seemed to get lost in it for a moment, the obvious metaphor hanging pointedly in the air between them. Eventually, the Rotom phone buzzed, and Leon flicked his eyes to the next question.  
"Someone asks 'What was your first date like?' Boring. The date, not your question. I think we went to a film or something, right?"  
Raihan paused in his ministrations, face thoughtful.  
"Was our first date not in the Wild Area? With the storm and everything?" He saw the blank look on Leon's face and pressed on, fingers batting at his chest, "Come on, you remember! We both got soaked and we had to sit in that cave the whole night while Torkoal steamed off our clothes!"  
"Oh!" He replied suddenly, eyes lighting up, "And then we-"  
Raihan's hand clapped to his mouth, eyes wide.  
"Don't finish that sentence, you'll get me demonetized."  
Leon's face went red, as he quickly returned to the phone for the next question.  
"Moving on, 'Why have you both only now decided to go public?’”  
Raihan paused again, hand resting gently on Leon’s face, cupped around his jaw.  
“I’ll let you take that one, it’s your story to tell. But don’t move too much, I’m trying to get an even line back here on your hair.”  
Leon nodded, stilling himself as Raihan mapped out the lines he wanted around his head. For some moments, he sat with his eyes closed, unmoving, only the sound of the razor’s buzz to punctuate the air. He could have been asleep, only for his voice.  
“Well, I guess it was about privacy, to some extent. I know we do things a little bit different in Galar with regards to our Gym challenge and the responsibilities that being a Leader or a Champion entails. Yeah, alright, we’re community figures and all of that, just like everywhere else, but there’s more to it. We’re the only League in the world — that we know of — with as heavy corporate sponsorship as we have. There’s a lot of eyes on us at all times. We film ads, we do interviews, we make appearances on chat shows and morning programs. Sure last week, Milo was on Bake-Off!”  
They each paused to chuckle at the memory of their colleague’s time on the competition. He had been doing well, up until a disastrous chiffon cake left him out of the running. He was as amiable as ever in defeat, and cheered as loudly as anyone at the finale when the winner was announced.  
“And so, when you have all this time spent under scrutiny, and under pressure to be and look and act a certain way all the time, it’s nice to have someone to come home to where you can just be yourself. Which would be easy if the person to whom you’re coming home didn’t also run a PokéTube channel with over a million subscribers! So, because I wanted to have some time where I didn’t have to be on, even in my own house-”  
“Our house, babe. My name’s on that sheet of paper as well.”  
“Even in our own house, I asked Rai if he would leave me out of his videos for the most part. And he did.”  
“And so why the change?” Raihan prompted, as trained an interviewer as anyone.  
“Well since I’ve abdicated the title of Champion, there’s a lot fewer eyes on me now. And I didn’t want you,” he continued, turning around to meet his eyes, “To feel like you couldn’t show me off as if I were any other bloke.”  
Raihan’s smile seemed a little pained, but he swallowed it, leaning down to rest his forehead against Leon’s. It was strange, Blue thought to himself, how real they seemed in that moment. Much of the artifice that was involved in Raihan’s videos had disappeared, replaced with a quiet tenderness between the two that had nothing to do with performance. Eventually they separated, Raihan finishing up with the razor and moving on with a pair of scissors and a comb, to hack away at the mop at the top of Leon’s head.  
“So are you gunna be all my videos from now on?” Raihan’s grin had returned, as Leon winced, an uneasy smile spreading his mouth.  
“I hope not!”  
They laughed again, their tender moment passed, as Raihan manipulated Leon’s head around to get at one side. His hair continued to fall around his chest, tickling his nose, as he watched the reflection he had grown so used to slowly fade into something new.  
“Okay okay, last couple of questions now. ‘Have you guys ever been on vacation together?’ Vacation, that’s such an Unovan word. Err… no, we haven’t.”  
“No, we haven’t actually. Me an’ Nessa go down to our family in the South twice a year but you’ve never come with us now that I think about it. You’ve always had work.”  
“Rai, I haven’t taken an holiday in twelve years. Last place I ever went was Kalos with mum, a few years after Hop was born. We didn’t really have the money after that, and then when I did have the money, I never had the time. Might be something to put on the to-do list now!”  
Leon laughed as heartily as ever, but there was a plainly obvious hurt behind his eyes, at the dawning realization of how little of his young years he had truly been able to enjoy, too caught in the whirlwind of his achievements. Raihan caught it — why wouldn’t he? — and looked into the camera above Leon’s head, where he couldn’t see him. He winked once, grin broad on his face, and a small annotation flashed at the top of the screen, teasing the title of his next video: SURPRISING MY BOYFRIEND WITH A FIVE-STAR HOLIDAY. Blue shook his head in disbelief. The man was a content machine.  
“Alright, I’m nearly done here, give us one more question.”  
“Okay, last question, and it’s from someone called...Ray-han? They ask ‘Leon, will you mar-’ no I’m just joking!” Leon threw his head back in laughter as he heard Raihan’s breath catch behind him in shock. He went on, “They actually asked, ‘What side of the bed do you sleep on?’ The answer is very simple, underneath Rai. He likes to spread out.”  
He giggled as Raihan directed yet another light slap to the back of his head. The cutting had stopped by this point, and Raihan swivelled his head from side to side, checking that everything was even. Leon was totally transformed, sides shaved close to the skin, with a short, messy weight of hair on top. He ran his fingers through it a few times, settling it in a style that pleased him, and settled.  
“What do you think?”  
“It’s different.”  
“Good different?”  
“I think so.”  
Raihan shrugged theatrically at the camera.  
“No pleasing you, is there?”  
Leon grinned in response, placing a quick kiss to his hand where it rested on his shoulder. Raihan leaned down further, gathering Leon into his arms, resting his cheek atop his freshly-cut locks, and sighed.  
“Alright, time to wrap this up.”  
The video cut once more, to the two of them seated again at the table, Leon obviously fresh out of a shower, newly clothed. Raihan's arm sat slung across his broad shoulders, heads close as he addressed the camera.  
"That's it for today guys, I hope I'll see you all back here on Wednesday for the next video, which you got a little hint to earlier on. Until then, say bye, Leon."  
"Bye, Leon!"  
"I hate him."  
The video ended then, and Blue found himself oddly warmed by their display. It was a strange feeling, being happy for two strangers, but he supposed he could see so much of himself and Red in the both of them that it only made sense to feel a connection. For his own part, Red had fallen asleep again, exhaustion overpowering his curiosity. Blue sat up, and watched Red sleep curled around the remembered form of Blue's body in his arms. He ran his fingers through his hair once, scratched his cheek, and left him to go start dinner.

As Raihan fussed with the camera to get it to stop recording, Leon made his way through their house to the shower. As he passed through the living room, he stopped to pet his Charmander, who had fallen asleep on the couch, nestled by Raihan's Torkoal which sat, feet tucked under itself. Raihan caught up to him, and they made for the bathroom together.  
"Sit down there and I'll wash this all off, go on," he said, gesturing for Leon to sit with his back to the bath, head leaning into the tub. Raihan knelt by his side, running the warm water over his scalp and shoulders, washing the stray hairs that had attached themselves to him down the drain. He spoke in a quiet voice, barely audible over the spray.  
"Thanks, Lee, for that. I'm glad you decided to do this. It means a lot to me."  
Leon wrapped an arm around Raihan's waist, scooting closer to him.  
"Maybe it'll make up for all the stuff I've missed because of work, y'know? Or make a start, even."  
"I don't blame you for chasing your dreams, mate."  
"I know you don't. That's why I'm here."  
Raihan smiled, and kissed him once. He replaced the showerhead on its rack, and reached for a towel, drying Leon's head gently, his movements more like gentle caresses than an earnest attempt to dry him.  
"Love you."  
"Love you too."

Raihan's video uploaded at noon Galarian time, and by five minutes past the hour his phone, and Leon's, had blown up. They were being hounded by press people looking for interviews, several thousand @ replies on Twitter with reactions ranging from breathless congratulations to vitriolic homophobia, not to mention several texts from their colleagues wishing them the best now that their open secret was finally just open.  
Neither of them saw any of the messages — not until much later that day, anyway. They spent the morning together, phones off, bathing their Pokémon in the bright sunshine of that Galarian summer. Raihan hadn't yet filmed his surprise — their two-month getaway to Alola — but it was coming later that day. Until then, they chose to enjoy each other's company, free from the intrusions of the outside world.


End file.
